Përparim Hetemaj

Përparim Hetemaj (born 12 December 1986) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Veikkausliiga club HJK.[2] Born in Kosovo, Hetemaj arrived in Finland when he was 6 years old and played for HJK's youth teams; signing a professional contract in 2004 at age 17. He joined Greek side AEK Athens in 2006, and moved to Twente in 2009. Subsequently, in 2010, he was signed by Brescia and was transferred to Chievo in 2011. Hetemaj played 300 matches in the Serie A before returning to Finland in 2022 after a season with Reggina in the Serie B.

Përparim Hetemaj
Hetemaj in 2015
Personal information
Date of birth (1986-12-12) 12 December 1986
Place of birth Skenderaj, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 HJK
Number 56
Youth career
1993–2003 HJK
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004 Klubi 04 21 (6)
2004–2006 HJK 33 (1)
2006–2009 AEK Athens 19 (0)
2008 → Apollon Kalamarias (loan) 11 (1)
2009–2010 Twente 0 (0)
2010–2011 Brescia 34 (2)
2011–2019 Chievo 239 (6)
2019–2021 Benevento 64 (0)
2021–2022 Reggina 30 (1)
2022– HJK 32 (2)
International career‡
2004–2005 Finland U-19 4 (2)
2005–2009 Finland U-21 16 (3)
2009–2017 Finland 50 (4)
Medal record
Representing  Finland
Second placeBaltic Cup2012
Third placeBaltic Cup2014
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21 October 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 9 October 2017

Hetemaj made his international debut for Finland in February 2009, at the age of 22, and made 50 appearances, including appearing in 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifications, before his retirement from international football in 2018.[3]

Early and personal life

Of Kosovo Albanian ethnicity, Hetemaj was born in Skenderaj, Yugoslavia, and moved to Finland in 1992. His family first arrived at Oulu but they moved to Helsinki due to his father Miftar suffering from asthma. He has a younger brother, the footballer Mehmet, and two sisters, Fatlume and Fatbardhe.[4] In 2004, he acquired Finnish citizenship.[5]

Club career

HJK Helsinki

Hetemaj started his career at the youth academy of HJK Helsinki,[4] and in 2004 played for its second team, Klubi-04, in 26 Ykkönen—the second tier of Finnish football—matches, in which he scored six goals.[6] He played 26 matches and scored a goal in the 2005–06 season of Veikkausliiga—the premier division of Finnish football.[6] After playing seven matches for HJK during the 2006–07,[6] he was sold to AEK Athens for a fee of €450.000.[4]

AEK Athens

Hetemaj made his AEK Athens debut on 26 September 2006 in a 1–1 draw against Anderlecht in the UEFA Champions League.[7][8] After seven matches,[6] Hetemaj's 2006–07 season ended on 8 February 2007, when he suffered a fractured leg after a tackle by Kevin Thomson during a friendly match between the Finnish and Scottish national teams.[9]

He was again on playing condition in October 2007,[10] but he did not play for AEK and in January 2008 he was loaned to Apollon Kalamarias until the end of the season to gain more playing experience.[11] He scored his first goal in the Superleague Greece on 23 February 2008 against Asteras Tripoli.[12] He played a total of eight matches for Apollon Kalamarias in the 2007–08, and for the following season Hetemaj played nine league matches with AEK.[6] Unsatisfied, Hetemaj asks to be transferred,[13]

Twente

On 31 August 2009, Hetemaj signed a 1+1 year contract with Dutch club FC Twente as part of an exchange deal for Youssouf Hersi.[14][15] Hetemaj started the season 2009–10 in the reserve team but was unable to break through to the first team that won the Eredivisie.[16]

Brescia

Even before having played a match for Twente,[6] On 1 February 2010, Hetemaj was signed by Italian club Brescia on a free transfer.[17] Hetemaj only played four matches in 2009–10 Serie B;[6] Brescia was promoted to Serie A and he signed a three-year contract.[18] He made his Serie A debut on 12 September 2010, playing the full minutes in a 3–2 home victory over Palermo.[19] He scored his first Serie A goal on 22 September 2010 against Roma, becoming the first Finnish footballer to score in Serie A[20] and arousing Roma's interest in him.[5] Hetemaj went on to score again in a 3–1 victory against Bologna.[21]

Chievo

On 30 June 2011, Hetemaj signed for Serie A side Chievo in a co-ownership deal[22] for €1.4 million.[23] As a result, he chose the number 56 shirt number at the club. He made his debut for Chievo on 11 September 2011 against Novara, when he provided an assist to Cyril Théréau score the second goal of Chievo in the drawn.[24] At the end of the season and after 32 league matches, Chievo bought Hetemaj's full rights on 18 June 2012[25] for an additional €800,000.[26] In the 2012–13 season and the 2013–2014, Hetemaj played 30 and 32 league matches respectively and did not score in any competition.[6] Hetemaj marked his 100th appearance for Chievo on 22 August 2014 in a 1–0 defeat against Pescara in the Coppa Italia.[27][28] After four years at Chievo and 130 Serie A matches,[29] he scored his first goal for the club on 12 September 2015 in a 1–1 draw against Juventus.[30]

Benevento

On 2 September 2019, Hetemaj signed a two-year contract with the Serie B club Benevento.[31]

Reggina

On 28 July 2021, Hetemaj joined Serie B side Reggina on a one-year deal.[32]

Return to HJK

On 21 April 2022, Hetemaj returned to HJK and signed a two-year contract with an option for a third.[33] During the 2022 season, Hetemaj played in 29 games in all competitions combined and recorded four goals, including both of HJK’s goals in the UEFA Europa League group stage.

International career

Youth

Hetemaj was first drafted to play for Finland U19 on 7 September 2004 for a match against Sweden in Vihti. He made four appearances in the U19 team and scored two goals.[34] Hetemaj made his debut for the U21 side on 13 April 2005 against Estonia.[35] Hetemaj, along with his brother Mehmet, was called up to represent Finland at the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship and he played in all the three matches which Finland played.[36][37][38]

Senior

Hetemaj made his senior debut for Finland as an 84th-minute substitute against Japan on 4 February 2009 in a 5–1 loss.[39] He gained his first UEFA European Championship qualifying game on 3 June 2011 when Mixu Paatelainen chose him to the starting line up against San Marino.[40] On 26 May 2012, he scored his first national goal—a last-minute goal—against Turkey in a friendly match, which assured a 3−2 victory for Finland.[41]

Përparim Hetemaj was part of Finland squad in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification. Thus, despite having a chance to switch to represent Kosovo, his Finland cap in the qualification effectively locked him to represent Finland only.[42] His brother Mehmet played once for Kosovo before the Football Federation of Kosovo became a member of UEFA and FIFA. However, he also lost the eligibility for Kosovo after played for Finland after Kosovo became a member.

On 8 January 2018, Hetemaj announced that he would retire from international duty.[43]

Outside football

Charity work

As of 2015, Hetemaj occasionally helps football club of his birthplace, Drenica, and he usually helps with different monetary means as well as technical means.[44]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 21 October 2023[6][45]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Europe[lower-alpha 1] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Klubi-04 2004 Ykkönen 216——216
HJK Helsinki 2005 Veikkausliiga 261——261
2006 70——70
Total 331——331
AEK Athens 2006–07 Superleague Greece 701040120
2007–08 00100010
2008–09 1202010150
Total 1904050280
Apollon Kalamarias (loan) 2007–08 Superleague Greece 111——111
Twente 2009–10 Eredivisie 0010—10
Brescia 2009–10 Serie B 40——40
2010–11 Serie A 30210—312
Total 34210—352
Chievo 2011–12 Serie A 32030—350
2012–13 30000—300
2013–14 32020—340
2014–15 32010—330
2015–16 28110—291
2016–17 23010—240
2017–18 32310—333
2018–19 30210—312
Total 2396100—2496
Benevento 2019–20 Serie B 33000—330
2020–21 Serie A 31010—320
Total 64010—650
Reggina 2021–22 Serie B 31110—320
HJK Helsinki 2022 Veikkausliiga 16210122294
2023 1605090300
Total 32260212594
Career total 4811924026253320
  1. Includes appearances in the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League/UEFA Cup, and UEFA Europa Conference League.

International
As of matches played on 9 October 2017[46][34]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearCompetitive Friendly Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Finland 200900 2 0 2 0
201000 0 0 0 0
201140 4 0 8 0
201220 6 3 8 3
201350 2 0 7 0
201440 5 1 9 1
201540 1 0 5 0
201610 5 0 6 0
201740 1 0 5 0
Total 24 0 26 4 50 4
Scores and results list Finland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Hetemaj goal.
List of international goals scored by Përparim Hetemaj
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
126 May 2012Red Bull Arena, Salzburg, Austria Turkey3–23−2Friendly
215 August 2012Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland Northern Ireland3–23−3Friendly
314 November 2012GSP Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus Cyprus2−03−0Friendly
431 May 2014Ventspils Olimpiskais Stadions, Ventspils, Latvia Estonia1–02–02014 Baltic Cup

Honours

HJK Helsinki

Benevento

Finland

References
  1. "Perparim Hetemaj". chievoverona.it. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  2. "Perparim Hetemaj" (in Finnish). Suomen Palloliitto. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  3. "Perparim Hetemaj lopettaa maajoukkueuransa". Savon Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  4. "Perhepoika ja suuri suu" (in Finnish). Ylioppilaslehti. 11 May 2007. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  5. "Roma, ipotesi di mercato: si seguono Hatemaj e Izco". Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 11 October 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  6. "Perparim Hetemaj" (in Italian). Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 9 June 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  7. "Hetemaj tyytyväinen ensiesiintymiseensä" (in Finnish). MTV3. 27 September 2006. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  8. "UEFA Champions League 2006/07 - History - AEK-Anderlecht". Uefa.com. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  9. "Perparim Hetemaj'n nilkka murtui" (in Finnish). Football Association of Finland. 8 February 2007. Archived from the original on 23 October 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  10. "Hetemaj ei päässyt kentälle". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  11. "Perparim Hetemaj loppukaudeksi Apolloniin". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 29 April 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  12. "Hetemaj teki avausmaalinsa Kreikan liigassa". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). 23 February 2008. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  13. "Hetemaj kertoo siirtopyyntönsä taustat" (in Finnish). Yle. 24 August 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  14. "Youssouf Hersi naar AEK Athene" (in Dutch). FC Twente official site. 31 August 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  15. "Perparim Hetemaj siirtyy AEK:sta Twenteen" [Perparim Hetemaj moves from AEK to Twente] (in Finnish). Savon Sanomat. 30 August 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  16. "Hetemaj na half jaar alweer weg bij Twente" (in Dutch). fcupdate.nl. 1 February 2010. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  17. "Perparim Hetemaj siirtyy Italian kentille" (in Finnish). MTV3. 1 February 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  18. "Perparim Hetemaj seuraava osoite Serie A". Aamulehti (in Finnish). 2 July 2010. Archived from the original on 4 July 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  19. "Seitsemäs suomalaispelaaja debytoi Serie A:ssa". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). 12 September 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  20. "Suomalaisfutaajat ovat osuneet kaikissa Euroopan huippusarjoissa". Helsingin Sanomat. 23 September 2010. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  21. "Brescia 3-1 Bologna: Rondinelle secure vital victory at Rossoblu's expense in quest for Serie A survival". Goal.com. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  22. "Il Napoli punta su Pandev Roma: si chiude Stekelenburg". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 30 June 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  23. Brescia Calcio S.p.A. bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2011 (in Italian), PDF purchased Italian C.C.I.A.A.
  24. "Hetemaj'lle maalisyöttö Serie A:n avauksessa". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). 11 September 2011. Archived from the original on 8 November 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  25. "Hetemaj è tutto gialloblu" (in Italian). chievoverona.tv. 18 June 2012. Archived from the original on 18 June 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  26. A.C. Chievo-Verona S.r.l. bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2012 (in Italian), PDF purchased Italian C.C.I.A.A.
  27. "Cento volte Hetemaj!" (in Italian). chievoverona.it. 25 August 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  28. "Coppa Italia 3rd Round Pescara vs. Chievo Team line-ups". Goal.com. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  29. "Hetemaj stunned with Juventus goal". Gazzetta World. 13 September 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  30. "Juventus 1 - 1 Chievo Match report". Goal.com. 12 September 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  31. "HETEMAJ È UN GIOCATORE DEL BENEVENTO" (Press release) (in Italian). Benevento. 2 September 2019.
  32. "PERPARIM HETEMAJ È UN CALCIATORE AMARANTO" (in Italian). Reggina. 28 July 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  33. "Perparim Hetemaj palasi kotiin – heti torstaina Klubin harjoitusvahvuudessa" (Press release) (in Finnish). HJK. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  34. "Perparim Hetemaj" (in Finnish). Football Association of Finland. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  35. "Olympiajoukkue EM-karsintaan Unkariin" (in Finnish). Football Association of Finland. 6 August 2006. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  36. "Pikkuhuuhkajien kisataival alkoi tappiolla" (in Finnish). Football Association of Finland. 15 June 2009. Archived from the original on 26 December 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  37. Atkin, John (18 June 2009). "Clinical Germany end Finland hopes". Uefa.com. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  38. "Suomi 0-2-tappioon Espanjalle" (in Finnish). Football Association of Finland. 22 June 2009. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  39. "Japani askeleen edellä" (in Finnish). Football Association of Finland. 4 February 2009. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  40. "Forssell laukoi Suomelle nihkeän voiton" (in Finnish). YLE Urheilu. 3 June 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  41. "Turkey lose to Finland by last-minute goal: 3-2". Turkish Football Federation. 26 May 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  42. "Change of association to the Football Federation of Kosovo". FIFA. 7 September 2016. Archived from the original on 10 September 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  43. "Perparim Hetemaj lopettaa maajoukkueuransa" [Perparim Hetemaj ends his national team career] (in Finnish). Savon Sanomat. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  44. "Përparim Hetemaj ndihmon Drenicën (Foto)" (in Albanian). Telegrafi. 4 February 2015.
  45. "P. Hetemaj". Soccerway. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  46. Përparim Hetemaj at National-Football-Teams.com
a.   ^ Albanian spelling: Përparim Hetemaj, Serbo-Croatian spelling: Perparim Hetemaj
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